BOOK VII: CONCLUSION

Subsequent Career of Cortes

Chapter I [1521-1522]

TORTURE OF GUATEMOZIN- SUBMISSION OF THE COUNTRY-
REBUILDING OF THE CAPITAL- MISSION TO CASTILE-
COMPLAINTS AGAINST CORTES- HE IS CONFIRMED IN HIS AUTHORITY

THE history of the Conquest of Mexico terminates with the
surrender of the capital. But the history of the Conquest is so
intimately blended with that of the extraordinary man who achieved it,
that there would seem to be an incompleteness in the narrative, if
it were not continued to the close of his personal career.

The first ebullition of triumph was succeeded in the army by
very different feelings, as they beheld the scanty spoil gleaned
from the conquered city, and as they brooded over the inadequate
compensation they were to receive for all their toils and
sufferings. Some of the soldiers of Narvaez, with feelings of bitter
disappointment, absolutely declined to accept their shares. Some
murmured audibly against the general, and others against Guatemozin,
who, they said, could reveal, if he chose, the place where the
treasures were secreted. The white walls of the barracks were
covered with epigrams and pasquinades levelled at Cortes, whom they
accused of taking "one fifth of the booty as Commander-in-chief, and
another fifth as King." As Guatemozin refused to make any revelation
in respect to the treasure, or rather declared there was none to make,
the soldiers loudly insisted on his being put to the torture. But
for this act of violence, so contrary to the promise of protection
recently made to the Indian prince, Cortes was not prepared; and he
resisted the demand, until the men, instigated, it is said, by the
royal treasurer, Alderete, accused the general of a secret
understanding with Guatemozin, and of a design to defraud the
Spanish sovereigns and themselves. These unmerited taunts stung Cortes
to the quick, and in an evil hour he delivered the Aztec prince into
the hands of his enemies to work their pleasure on him.

But the hero, who had braved death in its most awful forms, was
not to be intimidated by bodily suffering. When his companion, the
cacique of Tacuba, who was put to the torture with him, testified
his anguish by his groans, Guatemozin coldly rebuked him by
exclaiming, "And do you think I, then, am taking my pleasure in my
bath?" At length Cortes, ashamed of the base part he was led to
play, rescued the Aztec prince from his tormentors before it was too
late;- not, however, before it was too late for his own honour,
which has suffered an indelible stain from this treatment of his royal
prisoner.

All that could be wrung from Guatemozin by the extremity of his
sufferings was the confession that much gold had been thrown into
the water. But, although the best divers were employed, under the
eye of Cortes himself, to search the oozy bed of the lake, only a
few articles of inconsiderable value were drawn from it. They had
better fortune in searching a pond in Guatemozin's gardens, where a
sun, as it is called, probably one of the Aztec calendarwheels, made
of pure gold, of great size and thickness, was discovered.

The tidings of the fall of Mexico were borne on the wings of the
wind over the plateau, and down the broad sides of the Cordilleras.
Many an envoy made his appearance from the remote Indian tribes,
anxious to learn the truth of the astounding intelligence, and to gaze
with their own eyes on the ruins of the detested city. Among these
were ambassadors from the kingdom of Mechoacan, a powerful and
independent state, inhabited by one of the kindred Nahuatlac races,
and lying between the Mexican Valley and the Pacific. His example
was followed by ambassadors from the remote regions which had never
yet had intercourse with the Spaniards. Cortes, who saw the boundaries
of his empire thus rapidly enlarging, availed himself of the
favourable dispositions of the natives to ascertain the products and
resources of their several countries.

Two small detachments were sent into the friendly state of
Mechoacan, through which country they penetrated to the borders of the
great Southern Ocean. No European had as yet descended on its shores
so far north of the equator. The Spaniards eagerly advanced into its
waters, erected a cross on the sandy margin, and took possession of
it, with all the usual formalities, in the name of their Most Catholic
Majesties. On their return, they visited some of the rich districts
towards the north, since celebrated for their mineral treasures, and
brought back samples of gold and Californian pearls, with an account
of their discovery of the Ocean. The imagination of Cortes was
kindled, and his soul swelled with exultation at the splendid
prospects which their discoveries unfolded. "Most of all," he writes
to the emperor, "do I exult in the tidings brought me of the great
Ocean. For in it, as cosmographers, and those learned men who know
most about the Indies, inform us, are scattered the rich isles teeming
with gold and spices and precious stones." He at once sought a
favourable spot for a colony on the shores of the Pacific, and made
arrangements for the construction of four vessels to explore the
mysteries of these unknown seas. This was the beginning of his noble
enterprises for discovery in the Gulf of California.

Although the greater part of Anahuac, overawed by the successes of
the Spaniards, had tendered their allegiance, there were some,
especially on the southern slopes of the Cordilleras, who showed a
less submissive disposition. Cortes instantly sent out strong
detachments under Sandoval and Alvarado to reduce the enemy and
establish colonies in the conquered provinces. The highly coloured
reports which Alvarado, who had a quick scent for gold, gave of the
mineral wealth of Oaxaca, no doubt operated with Cortes in determining
him to select this region for his own particular domain.

Cortes did not immediately decide in what quarter of the valley to
establish the new capital which was to take the place of the ancient
Tenochtitlan. The situation of the latter, surrounded by water and
exposed to occasional inundations, had some obvious disadvantages. But
there was no doubt that in some part of the elevated and central
plateau of the valley the new metropolis should be built, to which
both European and Indian might look up as to the head of the
colonial empire of Spain. At length he decided on retaining the site
of the ancient city, moved to it, as he says, "by its past renown, and
the memory"- not an enviable one, surely- "in which it was held
among the nations"; and he made preparations for the reconstruction of
the capital which should, in his own language, "raise her to the
rank of Queen of the surrounding provinces, in the same manner as
she had been of yore."

The labour was to be performed by the Indian population, drawn
from all quarters of the valley, and including the Mexicans
themselves, great numbers of whom still lingered in the
neighbourhood of their ancient residence. At first they showed
reluctance, and even symptoms of hostility, when called to this work
of humiliation by their conquerors. But Cortes had the address to
secure some of the principal chiefs in his interests, and, under their
authority and direction, the labour of their countrymen was conducted.
The deep groves of the valley and the forests of the neighbouring
hills supplied cedar, cypress, and other durable woods, for the
interior of the buildings, and the quarries of tetzontli and the ruins
of the ancient edifices furnished abundance of stone. As there were no
beasts of draught employed by the Aztecs, an immense number of hands
was necessarily required for the work. All within the immediate
control of Cortes were pressed into the service. The spot so
recently deserted now swarmed with multitudes of Indians of various
tribes, and with Europeans, the latter directing, while the others
laboured. The prophecy of the Aztecs was accomplished. The work of
reconstruction went forward rapidly.

Yet the condition of Cortes, notwithstanding the success of his
arms, suggested many causes of anxiety. He had not received a word
of encouragement from home,- not a word, indeed, of encouragement or
censure. In what light his irregular course was regarded by the
government or the nation was still matter of painful uncertainty. He
now prepared another letter to the emperor, the third in the published
series, written in the same simple and energetic style which has
entitled his Commentaries, as they may be called, to a comparison with
those of Caesar. It was dated at Cojohuacan, 15th of May, 1522; and in
it he recapitulated the events of the final siege of the capital,
and his subsequent operations, accompanied by many sagacious
reflections, as usual, on the character and resources of the
country. With this letter he purposed to send the royal fifth of the
spoils of Mexico, and a rich collection of fabrics, especially of gold
and jewellery wrought into many rare and fanciful forms. One of the
jewels was an emerald, cut in a pyramidal shape, of so extraordinary a
size, that the base was as broad as the palm of the hand! The
collection was still further augmented by specimens of many of the
natural products, as well as of animals peculiar to the country.

The army wrote a letter to accompany that of Cortes, in which they
expatiated on his manifold services, and besought the emperor to
ratify his proceedings and confirm him in his present authority. The
important mission was intrusted to two of the general's confidential
officers, Quinones and Avila. It proved to be unfortunate. The
agents touched at the Azores, where Quinones lost his life in a brawl.
Avila, resuming his voyage, was captured by a French privateer, and
the rich spoils of the Aztecs went into the treasury of his Most
Christian Majesty. Francis the First gazed with pardonable envy on the
treasures which his imperial rival drew from his colonial domains; and
he intimated his discontent by peevishly expressing a desire "to see
the clause in Adam's testament which entitled his brothers of
Castile and Portugal to divide the New World between them." Avila
found means, through a private hand, of transmitting his letters,
the most important part of his charge, to Spain, where they reached
the court in safety.

While these events were passing, affairs in Spain had been
taking an unfavourable turn for Cortes. It may seem strange, that
the brilliant exploits of the Conqueror of Mexico should have
attracted so little notice from the government at home. But the
country was at that time distracted by the dismal feuds of the
comunidades. The sovereign was in Germany, too much engrossed by the
cares of the empire to allow leisure for those of his own kingdom. The
reins of government were in the hands of Adrian, Charles's
preceptor; a man whose ascetic and studious habits better qualified
him to preside over a college of monks, than to fill, as he
successively did, the most important posts in Christendom,- first as
Regent of Castile, afterwards as Head of the Church. Yet the slow
and hesitating Adrian could not have so long passed over in silence
the important services of Cortes, but for the hostile interference
of Velasquez, the governor of Cuba, sustained by Fonseca, Bishop of
Burgos, the chief person in the Spanish colonial department. This
prelate, from his elevated station, possessed paramount authority in
all matters relating to the Indies, and he had exerted it from the
first, as we have already seen, in a manner most prejudicial to the
interests of Cortes. He had now the address to obtain a warrant from
the regent which was designed to ruin the Conqueror at the very moment
when his great enterprise had been crowned with success. The
instrument, after recapitulating the offences of Cortes, in regard
to Velasquez, appoints a commisioner with full powers to visit the
country, to institute an inquiry into the general's conduct, to
suspend him from his functions, and even to seize his person and
sequestrate his property, until the pleasure of the Castilian court
could be known. The warrant was signed by Adrian, at Burgos, on the
11th of April, 1521, and countersigned by Fonseca.

The individual selected for the delicate task of apprehending
Cortes, and bringing him to trial, on the theatre of his own
discoveries and in the heart of his own camp, was named Christoval
de Tapia, veedor, or inspector of the gold foundries in St. Domingo.
He was a feeble, vacillating man, as little competent to cope with
Cortes's in civil matters, as Narvaez had shown himself to be in
military.

The commissioner, clothed in his brief authority, landed in
December, at Villa Rica. But he was coldly received by the magistrates
of the city. His credentials were disputed, on the ground of some
technical informality. It was objected, moreover, that his
commission was founded on obvious misrepresentations to the
government; and, notwithstanding a most courteous and complimentary
epistle which he received from Cortes, congratulating him, as old
friend, on his arrival, the veedor soon found that he was neither to
be permitted to penetrate far into the country, nor to exercise any
control there. He loved money, and, as Cortes knew the weak side of
his "old friend," he proposed to purchase his horses, slaves, and
equipage, at a tempting price. The dreams of disappointed ambition
were gradually succeeded by those of avarice; and the discomfited
commissioner consented to re-embark for Cuba, well freighted with gold
if not with glory.

Thus left in undisputed possession of authority, the Spanish
commander went forward with vigour in his plans for the settlement
of his conquests. The Panuchese, a fierce people, on the borders of
the Panuco, on the Atlantic coast, had taken up arms against the
Spaniards. Cortes marched at the head of a considerable force into
their country, defeated them in two pitched battles, and after a
severe campaign, reduced the warlike tribe to subjection.

During this interval, the great question in respect to Cortes
and the colony had been brought to a decisive issue. The general
must have succumbed under the insidious and implacable attacks of
his enemies, but for the sturdy opposition of a few powerful friends
zealously devoted to his interests. Among them may be mentioned his
own father, Don Martin Cortes, a discreet and efficient person, and
the Duke de Bejar, a powerful nobleman, who from an early period had
warmly espoused the cause of Cortes. By their representations the
timid regent was at length convinced that the measures of Fonseca were
prejudicial to the interests of the crown, and an order was issued
interdicting him from further interference in any matters in which
Cortes was concerned.

While the exasperated prelate was chafing under this affront, both
the commissioners Tapia and Narvaez arrived in Castile. The latted had
been ordered to Cojohuacan after the surrender of the capital, where
his cringing demeanour formed a striking contrast to the swaggering
port which he had assumed on first entering the country. When
brought into the presence of Cortes, he knelt down and would have
kissed his hand, but the latter raised him from the ground, and,
during his residence in his quarters, treated him with every mark of
respect. The general soon afterwards permitted his unfortunate rival
to return to Spain, where he proved, as might have been anticipated, a
most bitter and implacable enemy.

These two personages, reinforced by the discontented prelate,
brought forward their several charges against Cortes with all the
acrimony which mortified vanity and the thirst of vengeance could
inspire. Adrian was no longer in Spain, having been called to the
chair of St. Peter; but Charles the Fifth, after his long absence, had
returned to his dominions, in July, 1522. The royal ear was
instantly assailed with accusations of Cortes on the one hand and
his vindication on the other, till the young monarch, perplexed, and
unable to decide on the merits of the question, referred the whole
subject to the decision of a board selected for the purpose. It was
drawn partly from the members of his privy council, and partly from
the Indian department, with the Grand Chancellor of Naples as its
president; and constituted altogether a tribunal of the highest
respectability for integrity and wisdom.

By this learned body a patient and temperate hearing was given
to the parties. The enemies of Cortes accused him of having seized and
finally destroyed the fleet intrusted to him by Velasquez, and
fitted out at the governor's expense; of having afterwards usurped
powers in contempt of the royal prerogative; of the unjustifiable
treatment of Narvaez and Tapia, when they had been lawfully
commissioned to supersede him; of cruelty to the natives, and
especially to Guatemozin; of embezzling the royal treasures, and
remitting but a small part of its dues to the crown; of squandering
the revenues of the conquered countries in useless and wasteful
schemes, and particularly in rebuilding the capital on a plan of
unprecedented extravagance; of pursuing, in short, a system of
violence and extortion, without respect to the public interest, or any
other end than his own selfish aggrandisement.

In answer to these grave charges, the friends of Cortes adduced
evidence to show that he had defrayed with his own funds two-thirds of
the cost of the expedition. The powers of Velasquez extended only to
traffic, not to establish a colony. Yet the interests of the crown
required the latter. The army had therefore necessarily assumed this
power to themselves; but, having done so, they had sent intelligence
of their proceedings to the emperor and solicited his confirmation
of them. The rupture with Narvaez was that commander's own fault;
since Cortes would have met him amicably, had not the violent measures
of his rival, threatening the ruin of the expedition, compelled him to
an opposite course. The treatment of Tapia was vindicated on the
grounds alleged to that officer by the municipality at Cempoalla.
The violence to Guatemozin was laid at the door of Alderete, the royal
treasurer, who had instigated the soldiers to demand it. The
remittances to the crown, it was clearly proved, so far from falling
short of the legitimate fifth, had considerably exceeded it. If the
general had expended the revenues of the country on costly enterprises
and public works, it was for the interest of the country that he did
so, and he had incurred a heavy debt by straining his own credit to
the utmost for the same great objects. Neither did they deny, that, in
the same spirit, he was now rebuilding Mexico on a scale which
should be suited to the metropolis of a vast and opulent empire.

They enlarged on the opposition he had experienced, throughout his
whole career, from the governor of Cuba, and still more from the
Bishop of Burgos, which latter functionary, instead of affording him
the aid to have been expected, had discouraged recruits, stopped his
supplies, sequestered such property as, from time to time, he had sent
to Spain, and falsely represented his remittances to the crown, as
coming from the governor of Cuba. In short, such and so numerous
were the obstacles thrown in his path, that Cortes had been heard to
say, "he had found it more difficult to contend against his own
countrymen than against the Aztecs." They concluded with expatiating
on the brilliant results of his expedition, and asked if the council
were prepared to dishonour the man who, in the face of such obstacles,
and with scarcely other resources than what he found in himself, had
won an empire for Castile, such as was possessed by no European
potentate!

This last appeal was irresistible. However irregular had been
the manner of proceeding, no one could deny the grandeur of the
results. There was not a Spaniard that could be insensible to such
services, or that would not have cried out "Shame!" at an ungenerous
requital of them. There were three Flemings in the council; but
there seems to have been no difference of opinion in the body. It
was decided, that neither Velasquez nor Fonseca should interfere
further in the concerns of New Spain. The difficulties of the former
with Cortes were regarded in the nature of a private suit; and, as
such, redress must be sought by the regular course of law. The acts of
Cortes were confirmed in their full extent. He was constituted
Governor, Captain General, and Chief justice of New Spain, with
power to appoint to all offices, civil and military, and to order
any person to leave the country whose residence there he might deem
prejudicial to the interests of the crown. This judgment of the
council was ratified by Charles the Fifth, and the commission
investing Cortes with these ample powers was signed by the emperor
at Valladolid, 15th of October, 1522. A liberal salary was provided,
to enable the governor of New Spain to maintain his office with
suitable dignity. The principal officers were recompensed with honours
and substantial emoluments; and the troops, together with some
privileges, grateful to the vanity of the soldier, received the
promise of liberal grants of land. The emperor still further
complimented them by a letter written to the army with his own hand,
in which he acknowledged its services in the fullest manner.

1. "¿Estoi yo en algun deleite, ó baño?" (Gomara, Crónica, cap. 145.) The literal version is not so poetical as "the bed of flowers," into which this exclamation of Guatemozin is usually ren­dered.

2. The most particular account of this disgraceful transaction is given by Bernal Diaz, one of those selected to accompany the lord of Tacuba to his villa. (Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 157.) He notices the affair with becoming indignation, but excuses Cortés from a voluntary part in it.
3. Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 308.
The simple statement of the Conqueror contrasts strongly with the pompous narrative of Herrera, (Hist. General, dec. 3, lib. 3, cap. 3,) and with that of father Cavo, who may draw a little on his own imagination. "Cortés en una canoa ricamente entapizada, llevó á el Rey Vehichilze, y á los nobles de Michoacan á México. Este es uno de los palacios de Moc­theuzoma (les decia); allí está el gran templo de Huitzilopuctli; estas ruinas son del grande edificio de Quauhtemoc, aquellos de la gran plaza del mercado. Conmovido Vehichilzi de este espectáculo, se le saltáron las lágrimas." Los Tres Siglos de México, (México, 1836,) tom. I, p. 13.

8. "Sirviéron al Emperador con muchas piedras, i entre ellas con una esmeralda fina, como la palma, pero quadrada, i que se remataba en punta como pirámide." (Gomara, Crónica, cap. 146.) Martyr confirms the account of this wonderful emerald, which, he says, "was reported to the king and council to be nearly as broad as the palm of the hand, and which those, who had seen it, thought could not be procured for any sum." De Orbe Novo, dec. 8, cap. 4.

9. Ibid., ubi supra.--Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 169.

10. The instrument also conferred similar powers in respect to an inquiry into Narvaez's treat­ment of the licentiate Ayllon. The whole document is cited in a deposition drawn up by the notary, Alonso de Vergara, setting forth the proceedings of Tapia and the municipality of Villa Rica, dated at Cempoalla, Dec. 24th, 1521. The MS. forms part of the collection of Don Vargas Ponçe, in the archives of the Academy of History at Madrid.

11. Relacion de Vergara, MS.--Rel. Terc. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, pp. 309-314.--Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 158.
The regidores of Mexico and other places remonstrated against Cortés' leaving the valley to meet Tapia, on the ground that his presence was necessary to overawe the natives. (MS., Coyoacan, Dec. 12, 1521.) The general acquiesced in the force of a remonstrance, which, it is not improbable, was made at his own suggestion.

13. The Muñoz collection of MSS. contains a power of attorney given by Cortés to his father, authorizing him to manage all negotiations with the emperor, and with private persons, to conduct all lawsuits on his behalf, to pay over and receive money, &c.

14. Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 158.

15. Sayas, Annales de Aragon, (Zaragoza, 1666,) cap. 63, 78.
It is sufficient voucher for the respectability of this court, that we find in it the name of Dr. Galindez de Carbajal, an eminent Castilian jurist, grown grey in the service of Ferdinand and Isabella, whose confidence he enjoyed in the highest degree.

18. The character of Fonseca has been traced by the same hand which has traced that of Colum­bus. (Irving's Life and Voyages of Columbus, Appendix, No. 32.) Side by side they will go down to posterity in the beautiful page of the historian, though the characters of the two in­dividuals have been inscribed with pens as different from each other as the golden and iron pen which Poalo Giovio tells us he employed in his compositions.